Hurricane Niomi (2094) (Misteeer)
Hurricane Niomi, occasionally unofficially known as Superstorm Niomi, The Literal Hollywood Disaster, the Long Beach Express, or the Great California Hurricane of 2094, was the most intense Pacific hurricane on record, with a minimum barometric pressure of 852 mbar (25.16 inHg) and 1-minute sustained winds of 245 mph (394 km/h) at peak intensity. Niomi was the seventeenth tropical depression, fourteenth tropical storm, tenth hurricane, and seventh major hurricane of the 2094 Pacific hurricane season, and the season's most intense storm by far. The precursor to Niomi was a tropical wave that exited western Africa on July 22. Initially, the wave was expected to develop in the Atlantic basin, but was hindered by high wind shear and cool sea surface temperatures. It briefly became a tropical depression in early August over the western Caribbean, and made landfall in Nicaragua, where it dumped heavy rain before degenerating into a remnant low. However, the remnant low restrengthened after entering the Pacific hurricane basin, becoming Tropical Depression Seventeen at 7:00 UTC on August 12. Around twelve hours later, Seventeen became a tropical storm, and was assigned the name "Niomi". At 17:00 UTC on August 14, Niomi became a hurricane, and proceeded to undergo a period of rapid intensification, deepening from 987 mbar (29.15 inHg) to 969 mbar (28.61 inHg), and its 1-minute sustained winds increasing from 105 mph (169 km/h) to 130 mph (209 km/h). As Niomi moved north, it continued to quickly intensify, peaking in intensity west of Baja California before making landfall near Long Beach, California, United States at 12:00 UTC on August 23. It proceeded to move inland, and after becoming an extratropical cyclone on August 30, crossed into the Atlantic basin on September 2 and redeveloped into Hurricane Fiona. Niomi caused catastrophic, unparalleled damage across much of California and Baja California, dumping multiple feet of rain and lashing a huge swath of land with incredibly high winds and major storm surge. Rainfall totals peaked at 6 feet (1.8 m) in northern San Diego County, California, while storm surge reached 30 feet (9 m) in portions of the Channel Islands, causing catastrophic flooding. Several seawalls that had been constructed to protect the region from sea level rise were destroyed or heavily damaged, leading to some areas being inundated in up to 25 feet (7 m) of water for weeks after Niomi's passage. Lesser damage also extended into Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas, where Niomi caused flooding as a tropical storm and later tropical depression before crossing into the Atlantic basin, where it would eventually develop into Hurricane Fiona. Meteorological history On July 22, a tropical wave exited western Africa in the midst of a relatively inactive Atlantic hurricane season. The storm system slowly strengthened as it traveled west, but development was hindered by a Saharan air mass over the eastern Atlantic, moderate wind shear, and slightly below-average sea surface temperatures. On July 27, a massive burst of convection within what was now Invest 93L caused it to be designated as Potential Tropical Cyclone Seven by the National Hurricane Center (NHC). On July 31, a Hurricane Hunters reconnaissance flight into Potential Tropical Cyclone Ten revealed that it had maximum sustained winds of 30 mph (48 km/h), a minimum barometric pressure of 1007 mbar (29.74 inHg), and had developed closed low-level convection, warranting its designation as Tropical Depression Eight by the NHC. The system had entered a favorable region for development, and was expected to become a tropical storm. However, high wind shear began to literally tear the depression apart, and it weakened into an extratropical cyclone shortly after making landfall in Nicaragua at 7:00 UTC on August 5. Shortly after entering the Pacific hurricane basin, the extratropical cyclone began to strengthen once again, acquiring subtropical characteristics on August 12 and becoming fully tropical on August 14. At 18:30 UTC on August 14, Tropical Depression Seventeen was assessed to have becoming a tropical storm, and was assigned the name "Niomi" by the NHC as per the designated naming list for the 2094 Pacific hurricane season. On August 17, Niomi underwent rapid intensification. Within a period of 15 hours, its minimum central barometric pressure plummeted from 988 mbar (29.18 inHg) to 917 mbar (27.08 inHg), and its maximum 1-minute sustained winds increased from 110 mph (177 km/h) to 160 mph (258 km/h). The hurricane continued to intensify as it moved northwest at a sluggish pace, and it underwent a second period of rapid intensification on August 19, deepening to 852 mbar (25.16 Category:Works by Misteeer Category:Storms by Misteeer Category:East Pacific storms by Misteeer Category:Pacific hurricanes Category:California hurricanes